Base for an upright for forming a stand or the like

ABSTRACT

A base for an upright for forming a display stand or the like, which base is formed of a plurality of legs which interlock with the upright without the use of any extraneous fastening elements and/or tools by the positioning of the legs in relation to the upright, and wherein the legs are readily detachable from the upright for the purpose of collapsing the base so that it occupies a minimum of space in a carton or storage area when collapsed, and which may be readily set up.

United States Patent Nathan [75] Inventor: Walter Nathan, Glencoe, 111. [73] Assignee: RTC Industries, Inc., Chicago, Ill.

[22] Filed: June 8, 1972 [21] App1.No.: 260,817

[52] US. Cl 248/165, 248/48, 248/188.7 [51] Int. Cl. Fl6m 11/20 [58] Field of Search 248/165, 150, 48, 188.7

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 871,050 11/1907 Vogt 248/48 933,142 9/1909 Vogt 248/165 1,153,028 9/1915 Chalk 248/165 1,591,110 7/1926 Willson 248/165 51 Jan. 22, 1974 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 266,390 2/1968 Austria 248/165 92,886 12/1968 France 248/165 Primary ExaminerMarion Parsons, Jr. Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Max R. Kraus [57] ABSTRACT 5 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PAIENTED JAN22-l974 BASE FOR AN UPRIGHT FOR FORMING A STAND OR THE LIKE SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One of the objects of this invention is to provide a base for an upright which forms a display stand, merchandise rack or the like, with the base formed of a plurality of legs which are detachably secured to the upright to support the upright in an erect position, and wherein the legs and the upright may be packaged, shipped and stored in a knock-down condition, and wherein the legs may be readily secured to the upright and interlocked therewith without the use of any extraneous fastening or locking means and without requiring the use of any tools.

Another object of this invention is to provide a structure of the foregoing character which is very simple and relatively inexpensive to produce and which can be readily assembled on the spot merely by connecting the parts into their proper position. This may be accomplished by an inexperienced person in a relatively short period of time and without the use of any tools. This structure may be readily set up and readily dismantled.

Other objects will become apparent as this description progresses.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing several of the legs secured to the upright, with one of the legs in a detached position for the purpose of illustration.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

The invention herein is relatively simple. The tubular upright, generally indicated at 10, which forms the vertical supporting member of the stand is a conventional tubing which may be made of steel, plastic or fiberboard, or the like, and which may be made of a single section of any desired height or may be made up of a plurality of tubular sections, such as 12 and 14, telescopically connected by inserting the reduced end 16 of section 14 into the top end of section 12. The telescoping sections permits the upright to be of a substantial height, yet when disassembled it can be shipped and/or stored in a relatively small carton to occupy a minimum of space. The bottom of the tubular upright 10 is open as indicated at 18.

Supported on the upright 10 is an annular bracket or connector member generally indicated at 20 which is formed of a pair of identical metal stampings or plates 22, each of which is stamped or fashioned to form a plurality of spaced arcuate-shaped portions 24 which extend radially on said plate. Each said plate is provided with a central annular flange 26 which surrounds the central opening 28 of the plate. The two identical plates are either welded or bolted face to face to interlock them together or they may be interlocked by stamping interlocking indentations 30, as shown in the drawings. When the plates 22 are interlocked the arcuate-shaped radial portions 24 of each combine to form a sleeve or socket generally indicated at 32 which is circular in cross-section. The radially extending sleeves or sockets 32 are open at their outer ends and closed at their inner ends 34 to limit the insertion of the legs, to be described. The number of such sleeves or sockets formed by the two disks or plates are dependent upon the number of legs to be utilized.

The central annular flanges 26 face in opposite directions when the plates are connected. They thereby form a central bearing surface for the connector 22 to firmly support it on the upright when it is initially slid onto the upright. It is preferred that the connector 22 be mounted to be slid on the upright to facilitate the proper positioning of same so that the legs may be quickly connected thereto and also for the purpose of saving packaging space when disassembled. It will however be understood that the connector 22 may be welded or otherwise permanently affixed to the tubular section 12 if desired.

As shown in FIG. 1, four legs are used to support the upright, although it will be understood that a lesser or greater number of legs may be spacedly positioned and used. All of the legs are of identical construction, therefore, only one will be described. The leg, generally indicated at 36, is made of a rigid wire having some give and is integrally formed and shaped to provide a base or.horizontal portion 38 with an upwardly turned inner end 40. Extending upwardly of the base at the outer end is an inclined or angular, portion 42. The inclined portion 42 is rounded as at 44 adjacent the base. The inclined portion 42 is bent rearwardly to form an upper inner horizontal end 46 which is almost parallel to the base 38.

As can be readily seen in FIG. 1, the legs 36 are secured to the bracket or connector 20 and to the bottom of the upright 10. The inner horizontal end 46 of the leg is inserted in the sleeve orsocket 32 'of the bracket or connector 20, with the inner upturned end 40 of the leg inserted in the lower open end 18 of the tubular member 12. When the four legs 36 are thus inserted they support the upright Ml.

It can be readily appreciated that when four legs are used, the two opposite legs are diametrically opposed and thus the four legs, form a cross-like shaped base when the four legs are connected to the upright. It can also be readily appreciated that the legs may be readily inserted and readily removed from the tubular upright and the bracket. Thus, the legs may be packed with the upright in a collapsed condition and required a minimum of space and may be readily assembled and attached to the upright to support said upright without the use of any extraneous fastening elements or tools.

What is claimed is:

1. A base for an upright, which upright has an opening in the bottom thereof, a connector comprising a plate-like member having a central opening whereby said plate-like member is positioned on said upright above the bottom thereof and in spaced relation to the bottom, with said upright extending above said platelike member, said plate-like member extending horizontally with the outer peripheral edge of said platelike member extending outwardly of said upright, said plate-like member having a plurality of radially extending sleeves or pockets formed therein with the mouth of said sleeve or pocket adjacent the peripheral edge of the plate-like member, a plurality of leg members detachably secured to said upright and to said plate-like member, said leg members each having a substantially horizontal base and an upturned inner end which extends vertically and is positioned inside the bottom of the upright and an inclined portion with an inwardly extending horizontal portion, which inwardly extending horizontal portion is received in the sleeve or pocket of nector is formed of a pair of plate-like members joined together with each such plate-like member having a plurality of arcuate-shaped surfaces so that when the plate-like members are joined a circular sleeve or pocket is formed by said portions to receive the inwardly extending horizontal portion of the leg member.

4. A structure as set forth in claim 3 in which each of said plate-like members has an annular opening adapted to be received on the upright, with each of said annular openings bounded by an annular flange, with one of the flanges extending upwardly of the plane of the plate and the other flange extending downwardly of the plane of the plate.

5. A structure as set forth in claim 1 in which the connector has four spaced sleeves and in which four leg members are detachably secured to said upright and to said connector, with the legs equally spaced around said upright and said connector. 

1. A base for an upright, which upright has an opening in the bottom thereof, a connector comprising a plate-like member having a central opening whereby said plate-like member is positioned on said upright above the bottom thereof and in spaced relation to the bottom, with said upright extending above said plate-like member, said plate-like member extending horizontally with the outer peripheral edge of said plate-like member extending outwardly of said upright, said plate-like member having a plurality of radially extending sleeves or pockets formed therein with the mouth of said sleeve or pocket adjacent the peripheral edge of the plate-like member, a plurality of leg members detachably secured to said upright and to said plate-like member, said leg members each having a substantially horizontal base and an upturned inner end which extends vertically and is positioned inside the bottom of the upright and an inclined portion with an inwardly extending horizontal portion, which inwardly extending horizontal portion is received in the sleeve or pocket of the plate-like member, said substantially horizontal base of said leg member being substantially parallel with said plate-like member.
 2. A structure as set forth in claim 1 in which the connector is slidable with respect to the upright.
 3. A structure as set forth in claim 1 in which the connector is formed of a pair of plate-like members joined Together with each such plate-like member having a plurality of arcuate-shaped surfaces so that when the plate-like members are joined a circular sleeve or pocket is formed by said portions to receive the inwardly extending horizontal portion of the leg member.
 4. A structure as set forth in claim 3 in which each of said plate-like members has an annular opening adapted to be received on the upright, with each of said annular openings bounded by an annular flange, with one of the flanges extending upwardly of the plane of the plate and the other flange extending downwardly of the plane of the plate.
 5. A structure as set forth in claim 1 in which the connector has four spaced sleeves and in which four leg members are detachably secured to said upright and to said connector, with the legs equally spaced around said upright and said connector. 